The next step would be to take the course

The next step would be to take the course. If you live anywhere near Hazleton, Pa., and are interested in one-on one lessons, we can get you signed up for them at the school. If you live near Pine Grove, Pa. I can do in-home lessons. Although I haven't done so yet, I am considering conducting some lessons using Skype. I just need to conduct a few experiments first to see how it goes.

For the one-on one lessons for people who already know music theory, the first thing I do is give them a theory test to see what level they are on. This is not a pass or fail test. It is a gague that tells me where to start with the lessons and what level I can communicate with them on. Your knowledge of music theory will enable you to advance quickly. The 12 week courses are group lessons in a classroom situation and only last for 12 weeks. There are 4 12 week courses and we must have a minimum number of students to conduct a classroom course. The one-on one lessons are more detailed and will last as long as you want them to. You can study for a month or more until you have what you want, or you can study for a few years and learn all related techniques like writing for full orchestras, the art of counterpoint, and even atonal music.

Each of the courses focuses on Harmony first, which involves creating and manipulating chord progressions to lay the foundation for your piece; Then Melody, which involves various ways to create a melody over a chord progression, using scales, arpeggios (broken chords), neighbor notes and tensions; Then on Lyrics, which involves both creating and crafting lyrics. Many people think that you have to be extremely creative to write good lyrics. But they can actually be crafted in a manner similar to putting together a chord progression based on a key or writing a melody based on a chord scale. This completely eliminates writer's block. After all three courses are covered, the next course of study will be to bring it all together.

Each involves exercises that may be used as part of a finished product. For instance, in Harmony you may write several chord progressions and shape them into a song form with grooves for each section. In the Melody section you will write melodies that go with your chord progressions in the song forms you created. Then you will add lyrics to the melodies. Later in the course you will learn how to write a melody first, then add the chords to it, write lyrics first and add melody or chords to it next. Eventually you will learn how to do a professional arrangement of your song, and if you are enrolled at the school we can even record it in our recording studio. To do this at home, you will need some kind of multi-track recording equipment or scoring software like Finale, Sibilus, Musedit, etc. If you have this and don't know how to use it effectively, the use of it will also be part of your lessons.

Email me if you are interested in the next step and we can discuss your options. If one of those options is Skype, you will need a webcam and microphone so we can both see and hear each other. Payments for Skype lessons can be made through PayPal.

Taylor Sappe